Barbie - Actions and Consequences

The creation of a worldwide icon is bound to be a controversial issue. Ruth Handler created the Barbie Doll in 1959 for her daughter, Barbara, to play with, and it spun into huge proportions. Handler's action of creating Barbie has influenced the way girl's play and children's perceptions of womanhood and femininity. However, some groups believe that these perceptions have been altered for the worse, and have retaliated. There have been consequences such as gender role stereotyping, "Barbie Backlash", and economic consequences.

Before Barbie, little girls were given baby dolls to play with, which socialized them for their future roles as mothers and housekeepers. Theses baby dolls had only one occupation; being a baby. Barbie was a breath of fresh air, as she was beautiful, slim, and had interesting jobs. Girls began to enjoy playing independent adult roles rather than motherhood roles, and they began to realize they could have a wider spectrum of jobs available to them. Barbie had jobs that were not typical to females at the time, ranging from Firefighter and Army Barbie's to Prime Minister Barbie.

Barbie's beauty has become the stereotype of today; tall, blond, blue eyed, and the 39"-18"-33" proportions. Young girls who play with Barbie aspire to be like her, they see it as the pinnacle of femininity, womanhood, and prettiness. Even unconsciously, girls who play with Barbie are dressing her up in pretty clothes, acting out their fantasies with this beautiful character. They will see that this is because Barbie is perfect', and will see it as how they will want to look.

Barbie's invention had quite an impact on American society. Many different opinions and perceptions cropped up; people believing it is a positive change (the girls who can now expand their games with a Barbie doll), and also people thinking it has a negative impact upon the children's behavior and perspectives. There are many factors that affected the view of a person; their gender,...

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Barbara Millicent Roberts, better known as Barbie, made her debut at the America Toy Fair in New York City in the winter of 1959. Barbie has continued to evolve with the changing times. She is an American icon that young girls everywhere idolize. Nearly five decades later, Barbie is not only for young girls any longer, adults everywhere collect the different Barbie dolls, and her accessories. While she may not be loved by everyone, no one can deny that she is the best selling doll of all time.
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In 1997, Barbie's body mold was redesigned and given a wider waist, with Mattel saying that this would make the doll better suited to contemporary fashion designs.[20][21]
"Colored Francie" made her debut in 1967, and she is sometimes described as the first African American Barbie doll. However, she was produced using the existing head molds for the white Francie doll and lacked African characteristics other than a dark skin. The first African American doll in the Barbie range is usually regarded as Christie, who made her debut in 1968.[22][23] Black Barbie was launched in 1980 but still had Caucasian features. In September 2009, Mattel introduced the So In Style range, which was intended to create a more realistic depiction of black people than previous dolls.[24]
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The barbie doll was created in 1959 by Ruth Handler, whose own daughter was named barbara. Barbara loved dressing up dolls and giving them new clothing designs, So the idea hit Ruth. Why not make a teenage doll that little girls could play and dream about their future with? Not long after that, Barbie was introduced to the world at the american toy fair in new york city.
Barbie quickly caught the attention of little girls across the country at all ages. She soon became a worldwide sensation and remains as popular as ever today.
Over fifty years after her debut, Barbie is no longer just a doll who lives in the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin with her boyfriend Ken Carson. She has become an idol for girls, and even women, everywhere. There are 2 barbie dolls sold every minutes around the world. She is sold in over 150 nations and has had over eighty careers including teen model, lifeguard, doctor, astronaut, and even ran for president three times (1992, 2000 and 2004). She has starred in movies, online games and video games. She is on backpacks and lunchboxes, has a website, and even has her own magazine, The Barbie Magazine.
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...Resources
http://inventors.about.com/od/bstartinventions/a/The-History-Of-Barbie-Dolls.htm
1.Barbie's "real" measurements are 5 inches (bust), 3 ¼ inches (waist), 5 3/16 inches (hips)
2.Her weight is 7 ¼ ounces, and her height is 11.5 inches tall.
3.The Barbie doll was invented in 1959 by Ruth Handler (co-founder of Mattel), whose own daughter was called Barbara.
4.Barbie was introduced to the world at the American Toy Fair in New York City.
5.The Ken doll was named after Ruth's son and was introduced two years after Barbie in 1961.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~class/am483_95/projects/barbie/barb2.html
1.Idea came from a German lily doll, Some condemned Barbie and her black- and-white swimsuit for being too "scary, sleazy, and spellbinding"
2.To help counter some criticism of Barbie as sex symbol, Mattel introduced Midge, Barbie's best friend, in 1963 and Skipper, Barbie's little sister, in 1964.
3.she was teaching women what was expected of them by society.
4.Against Mattel's wishes but by popular demand, they introduced Barbie's "handsome steady" Ken in 1961. They had coordinating outfits for fraternity parties, lawn picnics, drive-ins, and the beach.
5.Barbie portrayed an alternative, a life before marriage, without discarding the traditional values that accompanied this lifestyle...